Reunited, Reconstructed and Renewed
by Scorpia Firess SkywalkerKenobi
Summary: A few years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Ginny and Harry have their first real talk.


I own nothing!

A few years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Ginny and Harry have their first real talk.

I kind of based this off of 'The First Time' by The Script, but not...really? Idk. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Harry apparated to the Burrow from Grimmauld Place, hardly noticing the temporary breath hitch. He, Hermione and Ron, Angelina and George, and sometimes Bill and Fleur, all returned to The Burrow every Christmas. It was a crowd, but the more the merrier, and Harry had learned to appreciate the fact that everyone could still gather in one place and celebrate something together, if only for a little while. Hermione and Ron never stayed for more than a few days, because they had to visit Hermione's mum and dad, as with George and Angelina. Harry never meant to, but always ended up staying the longest, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were worried about him on his own, or because he just came early and left late, or some other unsaid reason having to do with a certain redhead youngest Weasley.

Ginny answered the door; she usually did. Harry was always welcomed in warmly, however, that was the extent of his relationship with Ginny. They were polite and kind to each other, but never really spoke about their breakup. Or the war. Or Fred. And many other things that they could have talked about in the few years that they hadn't been at Hogwarts.

Mrs. Weasley fawned over him, insisting he had food before doing anything else, and Mr. Weasley clapped him on the back and greeted him as if he was his own son. No one else arrived during the day, and that night, both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went out, Harry didn't hear them when they mentioned where. Maybe they hadn't. The house seemed different without George and Fred to joke and prank, or Ron to be the loyal friend Harry'd always known him to be. Harry would have been fine, but he didn't have anyone to talk to besides Ginny, and that would be awkward, seeing as he'd broken her heart, kissed her, left for nine months, came back, died, and came back yet again.

Harry looked at the clock. It was 2 AM. He'd excused himself early from the silent supper and tried to sleep, but apparently his dreams didn't even want to be in his presence. He rolled off of the bed and trudged down the stairs, making as little noise as he could. And when he got to the bottom of the stairs, Ginny was just sitting on the sofa, a blue and red checked blanket around her, holding a large white mug of hot chocolate, as if she had been waiting for him. And another hot mug was sitting on the coffee table.

Harry couldn't find words. "Ginny...I was just-I didn't-"

"Didn't know I was up?" Ginny gave him an amused look. "Didn't think I knew you were up?" She moved over on the sofa, making room for him. "Sit." She ordered. When he did, she took the second mug and put it in his hands.

"How..." Harry was still speechless. With what, he didn't know. Shock? Surprise?

"I suspected you'd be awake. I couldn't sleep either." Ginny shrugged under the huge blanket. Harry looked at the fringe so as to stop staring at Ginny.

But Harry couldn't keep from glancing at her before taking a sip of the hot chocolate. He savored the warmth and sweetness in the warm drink. His eyes fluttered closed, and he was finally drifting off...

"Harry?" Ginny piped up.

"Mhmmm?" Harry's eyes snapped open to rest on the redhead, who was looking at the clock that told the family's whereabouts. All the hands pointed to 'Home' or 'Travelling'. Except for Fred's. Fred Weasley's hand had been pointing to 'Mortal Peril' since May...more specifically, the day after the Battle of Hogwarts.

"We should talk." Ginny turned her head toward him, waiting for his reaction.

"We should." Harry nodded. Well, it had to come eventually.

"As in, now." Ginny raised her eyebrows. Harry didn't respond. "Fine. I'll start. We haven't talked since Dumbledore's funeral. I mean, really talked. I want to know what happened with the Golden Trio. I want to know why you went away. You don't have to tell me everything. Just enough so I know something. Ron won't tell me anything, Hermione says you should tell me And that she can't, unless I have your permission. I want to know what happened to us. We don't have to be together. I just want us to be friends again. I don't want to be the person who opens the door for you once a year. I want to be someone you can talk to. I want you to be able to confide in me. Please. Just try to tell me."

"I..." Harry shook his head.

"Don't know. Yeah. Because you just never know." Ginny looked away for a split second. When she turned back to him, she had that hard, blazing look she sometimes got when she was emotional. Because Harry had never seen her cry. "Don't tell me then. It doesn't matter." She turned back around, and they sat in silence.

She really did deserve to know, Harry wasn't that thick as to not know that. He knew that she was one of the only reasons he had gotten that far and had been able to defeat Voldemort.

"...We first went to Tottenham Court Road." He nodded, blinking back tears. Ginny twisted her head to face him again. "Hermione had packed clothes for us, so we changed out of our dress robes, but the Death Eaters found us there. So we had to go to..." Harry explained the whole year to Ginny, who listened intently. When Harry told her about Ron leaving, she rolled her eyes, sympathizing with Harry. When she heard about Ron trying to win Hermione back, she couldn't help but giggle at her brother's actions. When Harry mentioned Dean Thomas, Ginny raised her left eyebrow only. "...And I took my chances. I figured that if it worked, then fantastic. If it didn't...well, I didn't really consider that. So when he cast the Killing Curse, I used Expelliarmus, and caught the Elder Wand. And that's what happened." Harry finished, tears in his eyes, breathing heavily, as if he had relived it, in telling Ginny.

"So, you were a Horcrux, like Tom Riddle's diary. And Snape was going behing Voldemort's back for Dumbledore, behind Dumbledore's back for Voldemort, behind Voldemort's back for Dumbledore." Ginny's eyebrows climbed up further as she reviewed what she'd heard.

"...Yes." Harry cracked a grin at how Ginny ticked off the items like a list, and said them with the voice of someone discussing shopping.

"You learn something new every day." She laughed.

He'd missed her laugh...

"We should talk more often." Harry commented.

"We should." Ginny nodded, and they slipped into another, more comfortable silence.

"Harry?"

"What, Ginny?" Harry didn't mean to sound rude. He hoped it hadn't come out that way.

"I think I'm losing memories of Fred." Ginny whispered quietly, as if George was around to hear. Harry just looked at her for a bit... "When I try to think of him, I can't remember. It's not always, just recently. And I think of just George instead. I don't mean to. I really miss Fred. Sometimes I think I might be dying from the inside out because I miss him so much. And I know it's not a big deal, and I shouldn't think about it, but..."

Now Harry knew from experience that girls liked to talk about awkward things. Like boys. And breakups. And all that. Ginny wasn't normally this kind of girl, and he was usually happy about that. But this, he knew how to talk about. Diggory had been hard to talk about, because Harry had known him for a tournament, they were competing, never real allies. But Fred...

"No. You don't have to think of anything specific. You don't need to remember a certain time, or one moment. Just remember Fred's laugh. His sarcasm. His ability to flirt without seeming to. His pranks, how the room felt alive when he and George were there to lighten things up. And he'll always be there, in your heart."

Anyone in the world would agree, it was a pretty smooth speech, even for Harry Potter.

"Thanks, and... I'm sorry. I'm sorry to be worked up. I'm sorry we haven't talked much. I'm sorry for everything." Ginny shook her head and met Harry's eyes.

"You don't need to be sorry. I do. I left without thinking of you or how you'd feel, and I should have let you in on it." Harry said.

"Damn right, you should've." Ginny grinned, and they embraced, reunited after many years, like a ray of sunshine showing the light at the end of the tunnel that was always there, that maybe you just couldn't see.


End file.
